Govt mulls laser wall on Pak border

Mukesh Ranjan

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 20

Even as a high-level committee under the chairmanship of former Union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta is working on suggesting measures to the government for better management of borders, Home Minister Rajnath Singh today said the Centre was contemplating putting up a “laser wall” along the sensitive western border with Pakistan.

Delivering the Centenary Rustamji Memorial Lecture organised by the Border Security Force (BSF) here, the Home Minister said, “We are making efforts to put up the laser wall at sensitive places along the western border.”

A laser wall is used for fencing, which is a mechanism to detect objects passing the line of sight between the laser source and the detector. Stronger lasers can potentially be used to injure someone or something passing through the beam, said an expert in security mechanism.

The minister said though technology had a role to play, only this would not be enough. “I know without the forces we will not be able to secure our borders,” he said.

Appreciating Rustamji, first BSF Director General, for his role in building a great organisation, he emphasised that for any “development activity, security is the key”. He said, “Unless our borders are secure and we have a sense of security, India cannot achieve its goal of having a double-digit GDP.”

Assuring all assistance from the government to the border-guarding force, he asked the officers and personnel to work hard for further improving situation on the eastern border with Bangladesh, which is notorious for “human trafficking” and “cow smuggling”.

He said, “I appreciate your effort in reducing cow smuggling by 50 per cent, but we need to see that we get the situation at zero level.”